


dirty laundry (looks good on you)

by rare_cat_meme



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Drinking, First Dates, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Party, Pets, Strangers to Lovers, bold art history claims, embarassing facebook activity, emotional support boys the jonas brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-04-24 16:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19177240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rare_cat_meme/pseuds/rare_cat_meme
Summary: “The chickencamefirst. That means it had sex and thenbaam, the egg was born,” Renjun explains. He takes off Yukhei’s legs out of his lap, plopping himself on top of Yukhei’s lap instead.“But if the egg had sex-”“Yukhei, eggs can’t have sex,” Renjun says with the most serious expression, “they’ll break.”or Renjun tries to do laundry and ends up co-parenting.





	dirty laundry (looks good on you)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you [jinnieshyun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinnieshyun/pseuds/jinnieshyun) for beta'ing!
> 
> i'm sorry yangyang

Sitting cross-legged on top of one of the many washing machines at the laundromat, Renjun aggressively types on his laptop to the sound of Dolly Parton’s _ 9 to 5 _ . He has just a little over two hours to finish his essay on how it’s unfair to pinpoint the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy when in 15th century Bruge artists were already _ snapping _ . He’s also in his dirty pajamas since all his clothes are currently spinning below him. The laundromat is pretty much empty, only one other machine being used, but no one else is around. 

 

Roughly one thousand words in, the machine stops, indicating the cycle is over. Renjun jumps off of it, opening the door and pilling up the wet clothes onto his tiny basket. As he gets up to move the pile to the drier, an unknown voice comes from behind, scaring the living shit out of him.

 

“Hey, you dropped a sock!”

 

Thankfully the pile is too heavy for him to throw it directly into the stranger’s face, but as he turns around to face the culprit, he sees two huge eyes, pouty pink lips and short, messy dark hair. The stranger has one of his rainbow socks in his hand.

 

“Oh! Thanks!” Renjun says hurriedly. The stranger deposits the sock on top of the pile hesitantly.

 

“Do you need help?” he asks. Renjun scoffs.

 

“Just cause I’m tiny doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

 

The stranger blushes lightly and scratches the back of his neck.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that-” he stutters out. Renjun rolls his eyes and continues walking towards the drier.

 

“It’s fine,” he ends up answering. He hears the stranger take a couple of steps and what is probably the sound of clothes being thrown in the washing machine. He puts his own in the drier, selects the program, puts in the coins and as the machine starts working he goes back to his spot to finish his assignment.  _ Just about 750 words to go, yay _ . Before starting, Renjun takes a quick glance at the stranger, to find him sitting down on the bench reading a comic book. He turns back to his work, trying to forget about the boy’s presence.

 

50 minutes pass, and as he is reviewing the complete essay and adding his academic references, the drier stops the cycle. Hopping off again, he opens the door to find his clothes still wet. 

 

“ _ What the fuck _ -” he says, livid, aggressively pulling his clothes out back onto the basket. He groans loudly in frustration and sits on the floor against the machine.

 

The stranger, who’s still sitting on the bench, lifts his eyes up from the book.

 

“Is everything alright?” he says soothingly, as if trying not to anger Renjun even more.

 

“Well, this drier is broken and just stole my money,” he answers, pouting. The stranger  _ ohs _ silently and his machine pings at the same time. As he starts collecting his clothes, he takes a second to face Renjun.

 

“If you don’t mind mixing your clothes with mine, we can do a cycle together?” he says with a friendly smile. Renjun feels a little embarrassed at accepting the offer, especially after refusing the stranger’s help earlier, but he doesn’t really have any other options. 

 

“Yes, please,” he answers quietly. He walks towards the stranger and silently helps him gather his clothes and put them in another drier along with his own.

 

“So, what are you so passionately writing about?” the stranger asks, trying to peek at Renjun’s word document.

 

“Just an essay for Art History,” he says, saving the document and closing his laptop. 

 

“What about? It seemed intense,” the stranger continues. Renjun scans him for signs of fake curiosity, but finds none. The boy seems genuinely interested.

 

“Well,” he starts, “It’s a bit controversial, but I’m defying the traditional idea that the ‘rebirth’ of civilization was in 15th century Italy.”

 

“But...the Renaissance…?” the stranger seems confused. Renjun smiles.

 

“The Renaissance is a fabricated concept by an Italian writer. A bit biased…,” he explains, “You see, Giorgio Vasari was a 16th century Italian painter that moved to Florence in his teens to meet Michelangelo and be able to follow him around. He was fascinated with what was happening around him and in 1550 he publish a book. Not just any book. The most influential art book ever,  _ ‘The Life of the Artists _ ’.” The stranger nods along, not straying his eyes from Renjun for a second. “He’s the first one to use the term ‘rebirth’, basically saying that humanity peaked in ancient Greece and Rome, then some asshats destroyed everything and blah blah blah dark ages and chaos. And then we return to light, in 15th century Italy.”

 

“So...I’m guessing we didn’t?”

 

Renjun shakes his head, inhaling deeply and opening his laptop once again.

 

“It’s really bold of Vasari to assume we were ‘lost’ for a millenium and a half and then suddenly Italy brought back the greatness of Classical art,” Renjun explains while opening several tabs of different art pieces, “He marks Donatello’s ‘ _ The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata’ _ in 1450 as the first great statue of the Renaissance.” He turns the laptop towards the stranger, who inspects the image carefully and nods. “But, in Germany, you have a life size equestrian statue that dates around 1220,  _ ‘The Bamberg Horseman’ _ that looks pretty damn good. Does Vasari ever mention it?  _ Nope _ .”

 

“Holy shit,” the stranger whispers, a shocked look in his face, “This Italian dude was able to fool humanity.” Renjun nods aggressively.

 

“He basically erased Bruge and Flanders masters,” he carries on, displaying Van Eyck’s  _ ‘Arnolfini Portrait’ _ , “How  _ dare _ we call this  _ primitives? _ This is 1432! Thirty years before Leonardo Da Vinci was born, fifty whole ass years before Michelangelo was born!” 

 

“I feel so bad these guys,” the stranger says with furrowed brows and a defeated look, “You’re a hero for trying to bring this to light.”

 

Renjun blushes lightly at the compliment, closing the laptop and coughing into his hand.

 

“It’s just an essay,” he dismisses embarrassed, “but thanks for listening.”

 

“No problem, I really enjoyed that. I feel a little more educated.” The stranger smiles and leans back on the seat. Renjun smiles back, shyly.

 

"By the way, thanks for letting me dry my clothes with yours, I was about to have a breakdown.”

 

“It’s no problem, really,” he says dismissively “The amount of times these machines don’t function properly is insane and unfair for broke college students. We just gotta stick together.”

 

“ _ Amen to that. _ ” Renjun says.

 

☂

 

Another 50 minutes go by, but instead of schoolwork, Renjun gets a passionate discussion about why maybe birds aren’t real and the FBI agent behind his laptop camera with the nice ( _ and handsome _ ) stranger, Xuxi.

 

“But with so many people in the world how can they make sure they’re watching criminals and not normal civilians?” Xuxi asks, genuinely curious.

 

“It’s probably really random, but maybe if you visit specific websites or something, they start watching you to see if you’re actually doing something wrong or were just doing suspicious shit without knowing,” Renjun answers with as much logic as he can muster. Xuxi looks at him with a pensive expression and then his eyes widen. “Any internet activity you’re worried about?” he jokes.

 

“Not really, probably just too many hours of the Wii shop music on loop,” Xuxi answers sheepishly with a small laugh. “Just unsure if I have food for my dude,” he shakes his head. “I’m sure he can hold himself for a little while.”

 

Renjun feels his smile falter slightly. Cute stranger named Xuxi is taken. Oh well, at least he got his clothes dried.

 

They chat a bit more before the machine beeps and both of them take a good ten minutes to fold the clothes into their respective bags and then they part ways with pleasant smiles and one last ‘ _ thank you _ ’, ‘ _ no bother’. _

 

☂

 

“So you’re sulking because a handsome, intelligent stranger who paid to dry your clothes said he has a boyfriend?” Xiaojun recaps while pushing a shopping cart in the mostly empty supermarket. Renjun frowns, looking up from their weekly shopping list.

 

“I’m not sulking, I’m just…,” he sighs, unsure of exactly how he’s feeling. Yangyang drops a box of frozen star shaped nuggets into the cart.

 

“Are you gonna let another boy take your man like that?” he says with his hands on his waist. It’d be a lot more intimidating if he wasn’t wearing pajamas and looked less sleep deprived.

 

“First of all, he’s not  _ my _ man,” Renjun scoffs. Yangyang shrugs and mutters _ ‘semantics’ _ . “Second, I’m not that desperate. And third, we didn’t exchange numbers or anything so it was meant to be done there,” he sighs, defeated. Xiaojun pats his back sympathetically. 

 

They turn into the chips aisle, cart almost full.

 

“That’s a shame, how are you supposed to know when he drops the other guy?” Yangyang continues, clearly missing the cue that the conversation is over. Xiaojun sighs, shaking his head. Renjun turns to him irritated.

 

“ _ Because I’m not a fucking leech-, _ ” he grits out while aggressively grabbing a can of original pringles. Yangyang gasps horrified.

 

“ _ No, no, no, no-, _ ” he says instead, intercepting Renjun’s hand, “I refuse to eat this trash flavour.”

 

Renjun and Xiaojun look at each other confused. He doesn’t let go of the can. Yangyang inspects the shelf with an insane amount of attention. He grabs a paprika flavour can.

 

“Fuck that,” Xiaojun interjects, lifting his hands in protest. “How  _ dare you _ call salted chips trash when you wanna  _ actually pay _ to eat  _ that _ ?” Yangyang holds the can closer to his chest, protecting it.

 

“He can’t hurt you,” he whispers to it and then glares back at them. “Why would you voluntarily eat  _ flavourless- _ ”

 

“We can buy some goddamn salsa, there, solved your stupid problem!” Renjun almost screams. Yangyang huffs.

 

“As if,” he says, walking away holding the can like a newborn.

 

“What the fuck goes on in Germany?” asks Xiaojun incredulous after a minute of silent.

 

“Fuck me if I know.”

 

☂

 

It’s only a few days after the ‘Laundry Incident’ (as Yangyang and Xiaojun refer to it) that Renjun notices there’s an addiction to his wardrobe that he doesn’t know. As he tries on the very  _ very _ large hoodie, he can’t help but scream, bringing Yangyang and Xiaojun running to his room.

 

“Are you dying?” Xiaojun asks, breathless. Right behind him, Yangyang whispers  _ ‘finally’ _ . As the other two observe the scene, the pieces are put together and Yangyang cackles like a crow.

 

“ _ Oh man, you said you’d never see him- _ ” he says in between choked breaths.

 

“Destiny is fucked up,” Xiaojun adds as Renjun drops to the floor, lying on his stomach and hitting it with closed fists.

 

Of course sharing a drier with Xuxi would end up with him bringing one of his items of clothing. _ Of fucking course _ .

 

“Shit, how are you gonna find him? Do you know if he goes to our uni?” Xiaojun starts listing possible ways to find Xuxi, but Renjun’s too deep into a self pity party at having to face the beautiful man again knowing damn well he’s taken. And that he looks cute as hell in Xuxi’s clothes,  _ goddammit you’re missing out dude _ . Xiaojun shakes him out of his misery.

 

“Check the pockets!” he says. Renjun’s face must be an open book because both Xiaojun and Yangyang look excited when his hand touches a piece of paper. His hand brings out two things: a shopping list ( _ dinner for chad! milk, eggs, grapes _ ) and a receipt from a local pet store. His brain blanks.

 

“That’s...odd,” he ends up saying.

 

“Who the fuck is Chad?” Yangyang asks eloquently. Yeah,  _ who the fuck is Chad? _

 

“It’s time to investigate!” Xiaojun claps twice and Yangyang pulls out his phone to play the opening theme of Scooby-Doo.

 

☂

 

Yangyang leads the search with ‘ _ never seen before technology _ ’ (google maps) and the next day they find themselves in front of  _ Fluffy Paws _ , a pet store three blocks away from their university. As they walk in, the street noises are replaced with what a jungle probably sounds like. The place is wide, on one side a few rows of aquariums with multiple colored fish, on the other cages with different kinds of rodents. There’s a parrot on the counter screaming ‘ _ coffee _ ’ on a loop and sitting behind it is a person the three of them recognize.

 

“Ten hyung, I didn’t know you worked here,” Yangyang says way too loudly, distracting Ten from his phone. He squints at them.

 

“Hey kids, what brings you around?” he says tiredly, giving the parrot an exasperated glare. Yangyang and Xiaojun look at Renjun, who brings a hand to nervously scratch under his chin. He grabs the receipt from his pocket.

 

“We’re looking for a person who shopped here maybe three weeks ago.” he explains quietly. The ink was pretty blurry after being put through the washing machine but they could sort of guess what the numbers were. “Very tall guy, lean, nice tan skin, dark short hair, around our age, maybe older,”  _ a total snack _ , he tells himself. Ten  _ hums _ , in thought. “He told me his nickname was Xuxi.”

 

“Considering only old ladies come here on my shift, I think you might be looking for a friend of mine,” he ends up saying, with a weird grin. Ten picks up a post-it note and checks his phone while he writes down a number. “I didn’t know he used weird nicknames around kids these days, but again, he’s weird as fuck,” he shrugs, offering the paper to Renjun. “Why do you need him anyway?”

 

“He saved me at the laundromat the other night, by letting me dry my clothes with his, but I ended up taking one his hoodies with me,” Renjun sums up quickly. Ten laughs.

 

“ _ How typical of him _ .”

 

☂

 

**renjun [11:12]**

hi, i don’t know if you remember me

but you let me dry my clothes with yours the other night

i have your hoodie

ten hyung gave me your number btw

 

**(?) xuxi [11:14]**

oh hey

tbh i don’t remember that ??

but i do have some clothes missing so i guess haha

are you free at lunch time?

 

**renjun [11:15]**

yeah!

ten hyung said you go to the same uni

if u r there wanna meet at the cafeteria?

 

**(?) xuxi [11:15]**

i am, that’s perfect

i’m wearing a light brown fluffy jacket

see you in 30

 

☂

 

The man he finds at the cafeteria is not Xuxi. He fits the description, so Renjun can’t really blame Ten.  _ And he’s just as handsome _ , his brain stupidly supplies.

 

“You’re not Xuxi,” he repeats out loud to the man who is a giant but dresses like a teddy bear.

 

“Excuse me?” the man says, not even looking mad, just confused. 

 

“I just texted you about a lost hoodie,” Renjun says. The man  _ ohs _ and extends his hand.

 

“Hi, I’m Johnny!” he says enthusiastically. Renjun automatically reaches for his hand. “I did think it was a little weird, but hey, we’ve all mixed our clothes in the laundromat with strangers,” Renjun sighs, defeated, but picks himself up just enough to be nice.

 

“I’m Renjun. And I’m looking for a guy nicknamed Xuxi?”

 

Johnny looks at him, still confused, and shrugs.

 

“I’m afraid I don’t know him.” He still offers a kind smile. Renjun nods.

 

“What did you buy at the pet store?” he decides to ask out of spite. Johnny gives him a toothy grin.

 

“My boyfriend asked me to get some dog food,” he says, showing his lockscreen photo — a petite cute creature. Renjun  _ awns _ .

 

After apologizing profusely to Johnny, who says it’s fine and that if he finds any Xuxi’s he’ll send a text, he walks back home defeated. No Xuxis were found and the possible Xuxi is also taken.  _ Dammit _ .

 

☂

 

“Give me more details, I can’t remember generic people,” Donghyuck says while munching on a pancake.

 

It’s currently the early hours of the morning. The six of them went out only to come back to Renjun, Xiaojun and Yangyang’s shared apartment and demand Jaemin to prepare breakfast. 

 

“I’ve told you everything...it was so late it might have been a hallucination at this point.” Renjun sighs into his cup of tea. Xiaojun gives him a sympathetic look.

 

“Just describe him one more time...maybe it will ring a bell?” Jaemin suggests quietly. Renjun groans but entertains them.

 

“Really tall, dark short hair…,” he recites from memory for probably the fifthteenth time. Jaemin and Donghyuck are listening intently, so he tries to give them the most miniscule details he can remember. “He was reading a comic book...and had varsity jacket!” Renjun recalls suddenly. 

 

“What kind of sport?” Donghyuck asks, promptly pulling his phone. Renjun tries to remember, but it’s been almost two weeks.

 

“Maybe soccer?” he offers unsure. Donghyuck nods, typing quickly.

 

“You better buy me lunch for a month if I find him,” Donghyuck says with an evil grin. Renjun gives him a skeptical look. “Just texted Yuta hyung, he’s the captain of the soccer team.” Everyone watches Donghyuck curiously.

 

“Did you just text him at 3am? That’s kind of rude...” Xiaojun interjects, being the only person with a last lick of common sense. 

 

“Nonsense,” Donghyuck dismisses nonchalantly. His phone pings right after and the room goes dead silent in expectation. Like the little shit he is, Donghyuck hums as he reads the message, offering no other news.

 

“Read it, coward!” Yangyang says annoyed, lightly punching his shoulder. Donghyuck leans back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head.

 

“Yuta doesn’t know any Xuxis,” he starts slowly. Everyone in the room visibly drops their shoulders. “But he said you should talk to Kun, he knows every Chinese student in our uni.” There’s an audible gasp that comes from Xiaojun.

 

“ _ Of course! _ ” he says, slapping his own forehead, “How could we forget Kun?”

 

Donghyuck shakes his head slowly while clicking his tongue.

 

“Y’all dumb as fuck.”

 

☂

 

It’s probably a side effect of living with Xiaojun and Yangyang that Renjun’s brain cells have deteriorated enough to forget about the one person he can trust. He comes alone to the music department to meet Kun and Xiaojun, who are in a meeting together.

 

“Xuxi?” Kun’s brows indicate he’s in deep thought. “You mean Lucas?”

 

Renjun shrugs, but repeats his description. That seems to ring a bell.

 

“Ah, yes, of course!” Kun smiles brightly, immediately emitting a sense of security. “I’ll send you his facebook profile.”

 

☂

 

_ Lucas Wong (Wong Yukhei) _ . Hum. The facebook page is pretty average. It’s mostly private, but Renjun can see a few things because he has mutual friends — Kun and,  _ surprisingly _ , Mark. The most recent post he can see is a picture of the soccer team. He recognizes some of the faces and the some of the people in the comments ( _ Mark Lee: _ Ronaldo is shaking haha). He clicks the  _ friend _ button and not even five minutes later his request is accepted. 

 

It’s like Pandora’s box has been opened. Turns out Yukhei wasn’t always this good looking ( _ phew it was looking rough for the rest of us _ ). Scrolling down to what is probably his middle school years, Renjun is surprised to find Yukhei had a (thankfully) short lived emo phase, with dark bangs covering his eyes, black clothes, a My Chemical Romance shirt and  _ is that a Metro Station song quoted in his profile pic? _ A few posts up he finds a tagged picture of a distressed looking pre-teen Yukhei at what seems to be a bingo game ( _ “grandson you look so handsome! always winning!” _ says the caption).

 

Feeling a little better about his own facebook history, Renjun quickly types out a message.  _ Well, I guess this is it. _

 

**Huang Renjun** [18:23]

hey, we met the other day at the laundromat 

and you let me dry my clothes with yours.

i accidentally brought one of your hoodies with me.

 

His heart rate picks up as the typing dots appear on screen.

 

**Lucas Wong** [18:24]

hey, i thought i’d never see you again!

glad you found me :)

 

_ He’s taken Renjun, super taken, don’t fool yourself. _

 

**Huang Renjun** [18:24]

haha took me a while, but kun knew you

anyways, do you have any free time?

i can meet up with you to give you your hoodie

 

**Lucas Wong** [18:25]

i’m doing laundry today, later

if you wanna come

**Huang Renjun** [18:26]

that’s cool

i’ll meet you there!

 

☂

 

The walk to laundromat feels eternal but also too quick. Renjun pictures himself walking into a tragic scene where he has to say goodbye to the love of his life who he can’t be together with. Damn, Yangyang’s dramatic flares are rubbing off on him.  _ You’ve met him once _ , he tells himself,  _ Yeah but he was one of a kind, wasn't he? _ , his mind counters. 

 

As he pushes the door, Xuxi (Lucas? Yukhei?) is already inside, sitting on the bench with another comic book in his lap. He pauses to look at Renjun and gives a beautiful smile as he approaches.

 

“Hey, nice to see you,” he says with a warm tone and a soft look, sending Renjun’s mind into a complete blank. “I thought doing my laundry was going to be boring as usual, but I’m glad to be wrong.” 

 

“Oh,” is all Renjun can muster at first, feeling his cheeks get warmer. “It was really hard to find you, honestly,” he ends up saying, sitting next to Xuxi and giving him the hoodie.

 

“I’ve got some time to kill…,” he answers with a grin, leaning back on the bench. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?”

 

☂

 

Yukhei — after a long explanation of names, Renjun settles on it — has tears in his eyes and is gasping for air as he thoroughly enjoys the tale of finding him.

 

“I can’t believe Yuta didn’t know who I was,” he says in between giggles, whipping a stray tear. “Kun is really the only man we can trust.” Renjun laughs while nodding in agreement.

 

“Hey, I still have one more question,” he decides to ask, “Who’s Chad?”

 

The grin Yukhei gives him offers him no answer. The drier signals a finished cycle.

 

“Are you free?” Yukhei asks instead. Renjun looks at his watch. 23:45. He nods, confused. “Wanna meet him?”

 

And that’s how, roughly twenty minutes later, they find themselves in front of Yukhei’s door. The first thing Renjun notices is how clean and neat the space is. Yukhei lives in a tiny studio apartment, there’s a couch, a twin size bed, a small table with only one chair. Wait, _ what? _ Before he can ask any more questions Yukhei runs to the kitchen and lifts a fishbowl with a small goldfish inside it.

 

“Renjun,” he says with a grin, “This is Chad.” he sets the fishbowl on top of the table, grabs a stool and gestures for Renjun to sit down with him.

 

It quickly catches up to him and everything seems to finally make sense. Silently, he sits in front of Yukhei, watching him giddily feed the fish while quietly talking to it -  _ Chad _ , he corrects himself. Yukhei looks back at him with a smile and Renjun can’t help but smile too.

 

“Somewhere last year, on a night out, this drunk guy randomly gave me Chad and I didn’t really know what to do, so I just brought him home and now he’s my roomie.” he explains quietly, dropping a few more bits of fish food. “My friends don’t really know Chad is a goldfish, so he’s a great excuse to not have people over.” They laugh together and Renjun can’t help himself this time.

 

“So...does that mean you’re single?” he asks with a daring look. Yukhei grins back and winks.

 

“Yes, very single.” At Renjun’s relieved sigh he raises his eyebrow in question.

 

“Well...I was convinced Chad was...your boyfriend,” he admits, slightly embarrassed but can’t help giggling along with Yukhei.

 

They chat a bit more, eat whatever Yukhei has lying around and watch an episode of Blue Planet II (Yukhei insists) and then they finally part ways, but not before Yukhei drops one last hint.

 

“You know, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but you always get a third chance to take me on a date. If it’s spaghetti.”

 

☂

 

“I can’t believe you did it!” Xiaojun says proudly, while pushing the shopping cart. Renjun smiles while crossing out items from their weekly shopping list. “Maybe I should do laundry with you, might find myself a man.”

 

Yangyang is walking a few meters in front of them, looking at shelves on both sides with an indecisive expression. Renjun and Xiaojun observe quietly, waiting for the appropriate moment to intervene.

 

“Where are you taking him?” Xiaojun asks curiously. Renjun offers him a smug grin.

 

“Top secret information,” he says, “Wouldn’t want you stealing my guy.” They giggle together. Renjun grabs a tiny succulent from the shelf and places it on the cart determined.

 

“You? Taking care of a living thing?” Xiaojun gapes. 

 

“I need to prove myself to Yukhei,” he says, “I have decided I want to marry him, find a husband for Chad and buy a house with a huge aquarium for our ten goldfish. But first, I need to prove him I can take care of them.” The house will have two floors, kitchen and living room on the ground floor and an ensuite on the first floor with an aquarium covering the whole wall. Renjun smiles as he pictures Yukhei feeding the babies every morning. Xiaojun looks skeptical but shrugs.

 

“Yeah sure, whatever floats your boat.”

 

Yangyang chooses this moment to turn back, looking extremely sleep deprived.

 

“Guys,” he says with a quiet whine. “What can I feed Charlie?” he pulls a small rounded rock out of his hoodie’s pocket.

 

☂

 

“So what did you do? Recommend him actual food or…?” Yukhei asks incredulous. It’s Friday, late evening, the city is starting to transition from week working people to weekend party people. The music kids are throwing a house party, so Renjun decides to take Yukhei with him. Wholesome husband side has been cleared, but now he wants to see if Yukhei can handle some  _ fun _ . 

 

“We told him to get lettuce, cause, you know, healthy,” Renjun tells him with a grin. Yukhei laughs loudly, awfully entertained by the tale. “He actually put it in front of his pet rock. Wholeheartedly convinced it would eat it. Now he’s super worried it’s going to die of starvation.”

 

They cackle together. The street lights turn on, illuminating the dark paths and harshly contouring their silhouettes. Renjun smiles, watching Yukhei laugh to himself with sparkly eyes and round cheeks.

 

“Who's gonna tell him?” he asks in between gulps of air. The look Renjun sends him is enough of an answer.

 

The loud music and chatter gives them a sign that they have arrived. The house is located just outside the more urban area, with the neighbors being far away enough to be able to make a decent amount of noise. Yukhei looks relaxed and mildly excited.

 

“How come you know these people?” he asks Renjun curiously.

 

“I know Xiaojun, who hangs out with Mark and all the others,” he answers earnestly. It crosses his mind that the remaining of his terrible friends will be here too.  _ Oh shit _ .

 

“Damn, everyone knows Mark,” Yukhei says impressed.

 

Possibly at the worst possible time, Donghyuck (Renjun is convinced he has a Mark radar at this point) opens the door and pops his head out, looking at the two of them at the porch. He grins, way too happy.

 

“Hey lovebirds!” he says with sweet voice, an evil glint in his eye, “I’d say take your time, but they’re about to play your favorite 2009 playlist, Renjun.”

 

_ Say no more fam _ . Renjun grabs Yukhei’s hand and runs inside.

 

☂

 

A few hours and several drinks  _ (3? 4? perhaps 7?) _ later, Renjun takes a break, sitting on the ground on the backyard with what he hopes is just soda. He’s a little drunk, the typical dizziness mixed with just the right amount of giddiness to run high on adrenaline and confidence. He lost Yukhei at some point when he left the dance floor to get yet another drink. It’s ok, Renjun tells himself, he’s a sociable being too.

 

It’s a little cold outside, but the night is nice, with a clear sky and a soothing breeze, so Renjun closes his eyes, enjoying the cooling sensation on his sweaty face. He hears the backdoor open, steps and someone sitting down next to him. His eyes open.

 

“Hey, long time no see!” Mark says with a friendly smile. His cheeks are flushed, probably from the alcohol. 

 

“What’s up? You haven’t visited in a while, what’s up with that?” Renjun asks with a raised brow. Mark laughs.

 

“Well, Xiaojun kinda asked me to do our assignments at mine because he thinks Yangyang might clock me in the face.” The giggles continue. Renjun sighs.

 

“Is this because of the rock?” 

 

Mark nods, giggling even harder. 

 

( _ Yangyang comes into the room where Mark and Xiaojun are working on a composition assignment. _

 

_ “Guys,” he says excitedly, “meet Charlie.” He shows them the dark rock. _

 

_ “You know,” Mark says after inspecting it, “a pet rock is fun until you realize that it’s essentially immortal and you’ve doomed it to an eternity of watching it’s loved ones die.” _

 

_ Yangyang’s smile quickly drops. _

 

_ “Oh,” he says quietly before leaving the room with glossy eyes. _

 

_ Xiaojun slaps his own face and groans. _

 

_ “He just stopped crying about his pet snail disappearing!” _ )

 

“Enough about me, what’s up with you and Yukhei?” Mark brings his hands close to his chest, quietly clapping in anticipating. Renjun blushes, but the alcohol in his system betrays him.

 

“We’re testing the waters. This is actually our first date,” he admits, avoiding eye contact with Mark.

 

“For real?” he sounds surprised, “Then what the fuck are you doing out here? Go grab your man, you’ve got a quest to finish!” Mark yells, clumsily getting up and pulling Renjun with him back inside the house.

 

It takes no more than three seconds to spot Yukhei, who’s talking to a girl he vaguely recognizes from their uni. However, their conversation seems to be over and Yukhei scans the room, smiling widely when he sees Renjun. This is not unnoticed by Mark. 

 

“Take him to the dancefloor, I got you!” he yells over the loud music before pushing Renjun in Yukhei’s direction.

 

High on liquid confidence, Renjun strides over to Yukhei, coming really close and whispering in his ear.

 

“Let’s dance.”

 

Joe Jonas’ voice fills the room and Renjun does a double take, looking at the  _ ‘dj booth’  _ where Mark is standing with a big smile and two thumbs up. Apparently he thinks the Jonas Brothers are Renjun’s emotional support boys. Well,  _ the song is not too bad anyway _ , Renjun thinks as the verse of  _ Sucker _ progresses,  _ might as well make the best of it _ .

 

The dance floor is packed, which is a great excuse to be pretty much glued together. Renjun shoots his shot, going as far as loosely putting his arms around Yukhei’s neck. He answers with the same enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around Renjun's waist. They stay like that for the next few songs, just moving in sync, exchanging playful looks and gentle touches.

 

Turns out the Jonas Brothers really are Renjun's emotional support boys. As Nick Jonas’  _ Jealous _ blasts in the background he goes in for the kill, leaning as close as possible and dropping a kiss just under Yukhei’s jaw. There’s a sharp inhale and a breathy gasp, the hands around his waist tightening. Then there’s a short laugh.

 

“Cute,” Yukhei whispers in his ear as he gently detangles them. He smiles at Renjun reassuringly as he takes his hand, directing them away from the crowded room and to the hallway. 

 

Leaning back against the wall, Yukhei laces their hands together while giving Renjun a soft smile.

 

“Let’s get out of here.”

 

Renjun smiles back.

 

“Yeah.” 

 

☂

 

“Who came first,” Yukhei says in between bites of his slice of pizza, “the egg or the chicken?”

 

It took zero effort to convince Renjun to leave the party. Now they’re at Yukhei’s apartment, cuddling on the couch and eating pizza while another episode of Blue Planet II plays on the TV. Renjun hums in though, wiping his greasy lips with a napkin. He then puts it inside Yukhei’s shirt with a grin. 

 

“The chicken  _ came _ first. That means it had sex and then  _ baam _ , the egg was born,” Renjun explains. He takes off Yukhei’s legs out of his lap, plopping himself on top of Yukhei’s lap instead.

 

“ _ But if the egg had sex- _ ” 

 

“Yukhei, eggs can’t have sex,” Renjun says with the most serious expression, “they’ll break.”

 

☂

 

Xiaojun eyes him suspiciously as Renjun enters the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. He raises one of his (incredibly powerful) eyebrows as he takes a sip from his own mug. 

 

“Nice hoodie you got there,” he says in pretend disinterest, “Who knew a size three times yours would look good.”

 

Renjun blushes, turning to face the kettle, trying to figure out how he's going to escape this one.

 

“Thanks,” is his best response. There's really no escape, “It's Yukhei's.” Xiaojun hums in acknowledgement, sipping his tea once again.

 

The kettles pops and Renjun hurries to leave the kitchen. As he turns the corner, Xiaojun clears his throat. Renjun stops and takes two steps back.

 

“I know all your secrets,” Xiaojun says with a threatening look as he points to his neck. Renjun runs out of the kitchen, embarrassed, as tries to cover all the hickeys Yukhei left the night before.

 

☂

 

Renjun nervously stares at Yukhei as he inspects every little detail of Renjun's room. He feels exposed, raw. Not like a quality steak at a fancy restaurant raw, he feels like roadkill on a empty highway kind of raw. Yukhei is a clean and organized person. His apartment is impeccable, he takes care of a living creature and loves it dearly. Renjun has already planned their honeymoon in Hawaii, diving in the coral reefs. 

 

It's only fair Renjun shows his own boyfriend/husband/partner goods. He's not doing great. There's a pile of dirty clothes on the corner behind the door. He tried, to no avail, to hide the questionable stain on the wall. His desk is a warzone, full of papers, half written, half drawn on, filled with ink stains. Pens, pencils, brushes, an exacto knife (" _ a knife! _ " Yangyang had said one time he got a hold of it," _ No! _ " Renjun yelled back, while chasing him), you name it, it's on the table top. Yukhei's sitting on the desk, silently observing all the books in the shelves, the figurines in the edges, and finally all the Moomin merch no other soul has seen or knows of its existence. Surprisingly, he reaches for the small vase by the window that holds his recent purchase, the succulent. He looks at Renjun in question.

 

"Oh, that's Jake," he answers as nonchalantly as he can,  _ I'm cool, I'm cool. _

 

"You didn't strike me as the succulent kind of guy," Yukhei jokes.

 

"You didn't strike me as a goldfish kind of guy either, but life is weird," Renjun strikes back, "Maybe I'm trying to make an effort, to, I don't know, maybe someday be able to take proper care of my future partner's pet, or something," he says quietly, looking at the ceiling, trying to appear distracted. 

 

“Oh,” Yukhei mutters quietly, sounding surprised. Renjun looks at him to find a warm smile. “That’s cool,” Yukhei finishes, setting the succulent back to it’s spot and pulling Renjun to sit on his lap.

 

It’s incredibly domestic, Renjun thinks, as Yukhei secures an arm around his waist and continues rummaging through the desk’s content.

 

☂

 

“If you could be a fish, which one would it be?” Yukhei asks, eyes glued on a small, flat yellow fish.

 

“A shark,” Renjun answers promptly, watching the small groups of tiny fish moving quickly around the huge tank, while the bigger ones slowly swim with seemingly no direction, “The small ones that bite a lot.” 

 

Yukhei laughs, a full grin reflecting on the glass. His eyes are shining, sparkling like light on water. The fish keep swimming in front of them, minding their own business. 

 

“Cute.” He reaches for Renjun’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I’d be a clown fish.” Renjun looks at him questioningly and he looks back. “ _ Cause I’m a fool for you. _ ”

 

“Gross,” Renjun says, grabbing the collar of Yukhei’s jacket and bringing down to kiss him. The aquarium is quiet, mostly empty. There’s a soothing track of music mixed with the sounds of ocean accompanying their kiss. As they separate, Yukhei gasps.

 

“ _ Not in front of the babies! _ ”

 

☂

 

The last episode of Blue Planet II is playing on the TV. It’s Friday, just after dinner time. There's two empty plates that once held spaghetti and meatballs that Renjun cooked — and got several deserved smooches for. Once again, they’re cuddling on Yukhei’s couch. This time Yukhei is laying on top of Renjun’s chest, arms tightly wrapped around Renjun’s torso, head just above his heart (“ _ ah, my favorite beat, your heart- ow, why did you hit me? _ ”).

 

“Don't you think Chad needs company? What if he's lonely?” Renjun asks while combing his fingers through Yukhei's hair soothingly. There's a question like hum in response.

 

"I never thought about that," Yukhei admits, furrowing his eyebrows. They both look at the coffee table between them and the tv, where Chad is aimlessly floating in his fishbowl. 

 

"Should we get him a companion?" Renjun suggests, "Oh my God, we don't even know if he's straight or not." 

 

"You're right," Yukhei says sleepily, yawning right after and squeezing Renjun closer, "We should get him a partner. Do you think goldfish can become depressed?"

 

Renjun shrugs, twirling curls with his finger in Yukhei’s hair, who sighs happily. 

 

“You know,” Yukhei says, voice muffled by Renjun’s shirt, “It’s really cute that you said ‘we’ should get Chad some company.” Renjun blushes furiously, lost for words. Yukhei lifts his head up, hair in disarray, eyes a little puffy and a loving look in his face. He moves closer, kissing Renjun softly on the lips. “I think we’re gonna be great parents,” he whispers right after, and proceeds to laugh loudly as Renjun chokes in surprise at the words. 

 

“You fiend!” Renjun whines, holding Yukhei in a chokehold and turning them around. He’s still laughing, there’s actual tears in his eyes, as Renjun buries his face in Yukhei’s neck. “I’m too young and beautiful to be a parent. What will my mom think?”

 

“That her grandchildren are gorgeous and look just like their son-in-law.”

 

☂

 

“This is a very exciting step of your relationship,” Ten says while standing on a stool, holding a small fishing net above one of the tanks, “But have you decided who will hold custody of your children, in case, well, you know...” 

 

“Yukhei is the fish dad, I’m just learning,” Renjun shrugs.

 

“Alright, fair enough,” Ten dismisses, turning back to the task at hand. Yukhei has his face glued on the glass. “Have you picked one?”

 

Yukhei points to a red and white small fish by the corner. Ten nods, promptly fishing it with the net. 

 

“It’s tiny,” Yukhei says, holding the plastic bag close to Renjun’s face, “Just like you. It’s a comet goldfish.” Behind the counter, Ten nods while registering the purchase. 

 

“Name?” Ten asks, probably out of courtesy. Yukhei turns to Renjun.

 

“I think the obvious answer is Vasari,” he says with a shrug and snorts loudly at Renjun’s disgusted face.

 

“Don’t you dare joke about this,” Renjun says through gritted teeth. “I’ll leave and take the kids.”

 

Yukhei smiles, pulling Renjun closer, who hugs him with a pout.

 

“I’m kidding. It’s Van Eyck, of course,” Yukhei says, reaching for Renjun’s hand as he plops a kiss on his cheek. 

 

“Welcome to the family, Eyckie.”

**Author's Note:**

> i got three words for u officer: fish daddy yukhei  
> bold art claims taken from bbc's 'renaissance unchained'
> 
> if you wanna talk about luren, i'm all ears: [twt](https://twitter.com/ridikunlous)


End file.
